Federal insurance exchange introduces window-shopping

Many people visiting the federal government's health insurance marketplace in 36 states complained that they couldn't window-shop for health plans without creating an account.

But visitors to the glitch-plagued HealthCare.gov site now can bypass the temperamental application interface and compare plans anonymously, as some of the state-run exchanges previously made possible. HHS added the feature Thursday, following 10 days marked by system outages and lengthy wait times.

The new estimator tool allows users to enter some basic information—state and county of residence, number and age of people seeking coverage—and see which plans are available to them.

For instance, I used the calculator to find out what the plan options are for a single adult, under 49 years of age, living in Cook County, Ill. There are 71 health plans available, according to the tool, with monthly premiums ranging from $124.84 for a bronze-level plan to $375.31 for a platinum-level plan.

A family in Choctaw County, Miss., on the other hand, will have a choice of six plans, ranging in cost from $684.10 per month for a catastrophic plan to $1,187.30 for a gold-level plan.

It's important to note that the window-shopping prices don't take into account the impact of federal tax credits on monthly premiums. The site does provide a link to a calculator that can help consumers determine if they are eligible for a subsidy. But there's no way of knowing exactly how much you'll pay per month without actually going through the application process.

The best part about the estimator tool? It actually works. And it's exactly the feature that many visitors said was missing and needed.

Federal officials are hoping the feature will divert some user traffic from the application pages and ease the logjam that up until now has hampered enrollment on the site.

Follow Maureen McKinney on Twitter: @MHMMcKinney